U.S. nuke plants not reporting defects

WASHINGTON - Companies that operate U.S. nuclear power plants are not telling the government about some equipment defects that could create safety risks, according to a report released Thursday.

An audit by the inspector general of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission also raised questions about the agency's oversight, saying reporting guidelines for the nuclear industry are "contradictory and unclear."

Reflecting that confusion, the report said the NRC has not levied any civil penalties or significant enforcement actions against nuclear plant operators for lapses in reporting equipment defects in at least eight years.

The study comes as questions are raised about the safety of U.S. nuclear facilities in the wake of the nuclear crisis in Japan. The NRC voted Wednesday to conduct two safety reviews of the 104 nuclear reactors operating in the U.S.

Unless the NRC takes steps to improve its reporting guidelines, "the margin of safety for operating reactors could be reduced," the IG report said.

NRC inspectors found at least 24 instances where possible equipment defects were identified but not reported to the agency from December 2009 through September, according to the study.

Eliot Brenner, a spokesman for the agency, said utilities and NRC inspectors both have procedures to identify and report manufacturing defects. The IG report mostly addresses how these defects are reported to the government, he said.

"The NRC has a variety of other regulations that effectively encompass reporting all defects, and the NRC continues to conclude plants are operating safely," Brenner said.

The agency will look at the report to see if its reporting systems can be strengthened, he added.

In its 18-page report, the inspector general said the NRC's baseline inspection program does not require inspectors to review an operator's reporting on equipment defects.